Author's Note I am so incredibly sorry for taking so long to upload this chapter. I thought I'd get more writing done this summer, but as it turns out, I was more distracted than I thought I'd be. Once again, halfway through the chapter I deleted it and rewrote it, so that probably didn't help at all, oops. It's a little shorter than usual, but I hope you guys still enjoy it! Thank you for reading (and waiting). If you have anything you'd like to say or ask, don't be afraid! I don't bite.

Cerulean eyes trained on moon, high in the sky and casting an eerie glow. It was eight o'clock, the time Kakashi had set for Naruko and the others to meet outside of the Mayor's office, and she was running a tad bit late. No worries. The office was ten minutes away from her house, but running would cut that time in half. After double-checking her locked door she took off with a premature heart-pounding rush of adrenaline, accompanied by thrill from the thought of breaking in, and nervousness from the thought of being caught. The thought of there being nothing. The thought of her being wrong.

She shook her head, sprinting through an alleyway between two brick buildings. Now wasn't the time to let doubt cloud her mind. She had to focus on Kakashi's plan - whatever that was - and soon enough, on finding Zabuza and Haku's documents. Also, on not running late. She added as she reached the end of the alleyway, turning left to head down another empty street. As she bumped into a hard chest and stumbled backward, landing on her back on the concrete, she could feel her chances of arriving at a decent time vanish with the searing pain shooting up her spine.

She would've apologized, but she couldn't find her voice. The sudden, irrefutable malice she felt was like one of those abrupt gusts of wind in winter - chilling her to the bone and leaving her shivering in its wake as it passed right through her. And like that gust of wind, the malice was gone in an instant. Her hand trembled ever so slightly with trepidation as she moved it to her holster, her head spinning. What was that…?

"Are you okay, miss?" A silky, male and undoubtedly familiar voice broke the silence between them.

She craned her neck back, the sight of a man clad head to toe in black hollowing an empty feeling in her stomach. His voice might've been akin to Haku's, but that was all she could recognize with most of his face effectively covered by a matching hat. Not to mention, his hair wasn't as long as Haku's. Shaking her head to dismiss any and every thought of Haku and the malice she before felt, she climbed to her feet and graced the stranger with an apologetic smile. She could think about all of this when a possible Mafioso or Serial Killer wasn't standing about a foot away.

"Yup. Sorry about that. I'm kinda in a hurry…"

"Ah, I see." The man paused. "Do you have someone… Or something you're trying to protect?"

"What kinda question is that?" She asked with a raised brow, placing her hands on her hips. "Are you tryna find out my Role?" After all, wasn't protecting someone a Bodyguard or Doctor's job?

He chuckled, low in his throat. "You don't have to be a Bodyguard or a Doctor to protect someone." He paused, but only for a mere second. "Tell me, Naruko… Why do you think Bodyguards and Doctors can perform their Roles so effectively, and more so in the face of danger?"

"Because… It's their Role?"

He shook his head. "When a person has someone important to them they want to protect, they can truly become strong. Anyways, you were in a rush, weren't you? You better get going."

Without another word he left, but she stayed there, irresolute as warmth bubbled in her chest, then faded with the sudden westbound breeze that bristled the hairs on the back of her neck.

How did he know my name?

The man's words followed her to the meeting place. When a person has someone important to them they want to protect, they can truly become strong. She forced them aside when she walked up to Sakura and Sasuke, who both glared at her with exasperation.

"What took you so long, moron? Did you get lost?" Sasuke asked, making Naruko's blood boil right off the bat.

"I bumped into somebody." She said through clenched teeth, barely holding onto her temper. "And that somebody happened to be a little talkative. Even though I thought they wanted to kill me for a moment, they were surprisingly nicer than a certain jerk I know."

He snorted. "Just because you're a Vigilante doesn't mean everyone who isn't one is out to get you."

"Just because you're an Investigator doesn't mean everyone who isn't one is as stupid as you think."

"You'd be surprised." He replied indifferently, tilting his head to avert his gaze.

The message was clear - this conversation is over. Naruko wasn't about to let it end like that, but just as she opened her mouth, Sakura shot her a scathing look. With a sigh, she faced Sakura with her slender eyebrows raising quizzically.

"Anyways, where's Kakashi?"

"Late, as always." Sakura muttered, kicking a pebble.

Naruko shot the pebble, now laying several feet away, a sympathetic look. "We can do it without him, right?" She questioned, refocusing on her.

"Do you have a plan?" Sasuke replied before Sakura could, earning him a bone-chilling glare from Naruko. "Don't look at me like that."

"I wasn't asking you, bastard." Naruko grumbled.

He sighed. "Kakashi's the only one with a plan, so we'll wait for him."

And so they did. Thirty minutes passed, flourishing into an hour without a single sign of Kakashi's arrival. It was obvious after another twenty minutes that they would have to attain the documents they needed without Kakashi's help, and Naruko divided an expectant look between Sakura and Sasuke, waiting for either of them to speak.

"Fine," Sasuke groaned, rubbing his temples, "since Kakashi obviously isn't going to be here anytime soon, we'll just do this without him."

Sakura frowned. "Do any of us even have a plan?"

"Yes, but we'll have to move quick." Sasuke gestured for them to move closer with his index finger, and when they were all huddled in a small circle, he continued. "We only have to worry about two people. That's the Bodyguard guarding the Mayor and the Mayor himself. We don't have an Escort, so we'll have to cause some kind of disturbance to lure the Bodyguard away from the Mayor's office long enough to give us time to do what we need to do."

"What exactly do we need to do, anyways?" Naruko asked.

Sakura sighed heavily. "Naruko, don't you know how Investigators work? In order to actually investigate someone, they need to know where their target lives. Investigators normally try to figure that out on their own, but… If they can't, there's another room - the vault - in the Mayor's office. It contains documents of everyone in Leaf Town. I'm sure Zabuza and Haku's documents have been transferred by now, so if we can find them… We'll know exactly where they live."

"Sounds easy enough." Naruko grinned.

"Not really." Sasuke said, wiping the grin right off of Naruko's face. "We need a key in order to get inside, and that key's undoubtedly located somewhere in the Mayor's office. And in order to get into the Mayor's office, we need to get him out." He trained his charcoal eyes on Sakura. "That's where you come in. All you need to do is say you're a Doctor, and then-"

"Sasuke, that won't work." Sakura interrupted with a frown marring her face. "Doctor's aren't allowed to visit the Mayor, remember?"

That's right. While Hashirama Senju, Leaf Town's first Mayor, decided against having any sort of protection assigned to Mayors, Leaf Town's second Mayor, Tobirama Senju, declared that Doctors were to focus on healing everyone but the Mayor. Bodyguards would be responsible for guarding the Mayor every night. Leaf Town's conditions then forced Hiruzen Sarutobi, the third Mayor, to initiate the Leaf Trials and have the Doctors focus solely on healing anyone with a Role. Excluding the Mayor, of course. The Bodyguards were still responsible for the Mayor's safety.

Sasuke's nose wrinkled in dissatisfaction, and he ran a hand through his hair, clearly annoyed. "Alright, then… I'll have to think of a new plan."

"Why not just add onto it?" Naruko's grin returned. When she was younger, she often spent most of her time in the Mayor's office fairly late at night reading. It was punishment for pulling pranks, and as boring as it was, she now has his nightly routine memorized. It was eight-twenty by time she arrived. It's been about two hours since they've arrived, which meant it was probably around ten o'clock by now. Around this time, Sarutobi would excuse himself for about thirty minutes. She wasn't entirely sure what he did around this time, but whatever it was, it would hopefully grant them enough time to find Zabuza and Haku's documents.

Curiosity always got the best of her at those times, and she may or may not have accidentally found the key while searching for a more interesting book to read.

"Old Man Sarutobi's probably gonna be leaving his office soon to do something. He'll be gone for about thirty minutes, so that oughta give us enough time to find the documents." She explained, picking up a rock and examining it with a triumphant grin. "The key is probably hidden in chapter five of the one of the gardening books he reads."

If she remembered correctly, the key was specifically located in Kushikaze's Guide to Gardening.

"How do you know that?" Sasuke asked suspiciously.

"That's a story for another time." She replied with a foxlike grin, whirling around to ascend the steps leading her onto the two-story building's pillared porch. The pillars reached from the top of the stairs to the ornate canopy above her, reminding her of some buildings she'd spotted in history books. She ran her hand along the old-fashioned brick as she passed by the large paneled door and approached one of the many double-hung windows adorning the front of the structure, and stopping in front of it, she prepared to throw the rock in her hand.

"Naruko! What are you doing?" Sakura asked, panic lacing her voice. She grabbed Naruko's arm, effortlessly stopping her with her surprisingly firm grip.

Naruko shot her a quizzical look. "I'm gonna break the window. That'll be distracting enough, right? While the Bodyguard checks out this broken window, we can run to a room near Old Man Sarutobi's office and wait for him to leave. When he leaves, you can keep an eye out for anyone while me and Sasuke do what we gotta do."

Sakura cast Sasuke, standing beside her, a worried gaze, but he didn't seem at all concerned when he shook his head. "Let's do it. Just don't mess it up, moron."

Rather than lashing out at Sasuke, Naruko channelled all of her anger into launching the pebble at the window. Her heart jumped when the glass shattered, and she wasted no time in flinging herself at the broken window and climbing inside. Letting out a low hiss at the twinge in her palm as she landed inside, she looked down. Even though it was impossibly difficult to see through the darkness of the room, she spotted a jagged red line crossing from one side of her palm to the other. She would've ripped some of her shirt to cover it, but she didn't have time for that - not when Sasuke and Sakura were already inside. Not when the Bodyguard could be here any moment.

She closed her eyes, envisioning the room in daylight. To their left was a desk, and to the right was a row of chairs aligning the wall. In front of them, the room split off into three hallways. The left lead to an exit. The middle lead directly to the Mayor's office. The right would split into two, with one leading to another exit and the other leading to the Mayor's office. It would take them longer to get there if they took the right, but it was the safest route.

Gesturing for Sasuke and Sakura to follow her with a flick of her wrist, she headed toward the right.

They didn't follow.

"Guys, we gotta go!" She whisper-yelled, turning to face them.

It was like a bucket of gelid water had been dumped over her head the moment she saw Sasuke's pale face. He honestly looked sick, and the sight of it made her chest tighten almost painfully. Her skin suddenly felt like ice, even though the room was ridiculously hot, and her instincts forced her to step away. As if Sasuke was a threat.

Drip, drip.

Blood.

Drip, drip.

Her blood.

Drip, drip.

Someone wanted it.

Not Sasuke, though… Right?

"Sasuke…?" She forced the tremor from her voice, lest it give way to her trepidation - to her confusion at this new, unfathomable feeling. It wasn't malice. It was a different kind of hunger. An unquenchable, inhuman thirst. And it was frightening. Even more so because she knew it was aimed at her, judging by the burning sensation engulfing her neck.

Rapid footsteps grew closer and louder at an alarming rate, but dread's unyielding grip on her wouldn't even let her blink. It wasn't until she felt something squeezing her hand that she finally snapped out of it, and before she could look down to see the bandages covering her wound, everything she felt earlier dispelled. It was like nothing happened.

Before Naruko could rack her brains for answers, Sakura placed a hand on her cheek. "Snap out of it, Naruko. We need to get going. The Bodyguard will be here any moment."

Naruko shook her head, dividing a curious look between Sakura and Sasuke. "But, Sasuke…"

"What about me?" Sasuke asked, lifting an eyebrow. "You heard her. We need to get going. You know this place better than either of us, so you need to lead the way. And you better hurry it up."

Had she imagined it?

She expelled a sigh, forcing the thoughts away. Now wasn't the time to stop and think. They had to move. Now.

"Follow me." She said, rushing down the right hallway, and inevitably, to the Mayor's office.

A thick, unsettling silence had rolled over them as they made their way to the Mayor's office, making it hard for Naruko to distract herself from the ominosity she earlier discerned. Still, she focused on running until they reached the office. Light poured in from beneath the paneled door and through the peephole in the center of it. She peered through it, relieved to see the room was empty.

"Alright," she said, twisting the doorknob. It was unlocked. She swung it open and stepped inside, Sasuke following her suit. The office's interior was just as she remembered it to be. With a tudor-style interior decoration, brown dominated the room with his cushioned red chair, positioned at his desk in the center of the room, being the focal point. The only other colors came from the red carpet in front of his desk, the various images bedecking the walls, and the endless amount of books hoarding his shelves. As soon as she spotted the vault, located in the left-hand corner of the room, she faced Sakura. "We'll be as quick as possible, kay?"

Sakura nodded stiffly, turning her back to them. Naruko finally closed the door.

"We need the key." Sasuke said, traversing the room to lean against the vault.

"I know, I know." She muttered, walking over to the bookshelf closest to her and starting to skim through the books.

"Don't you know where it is?"

"Well…" She swallowed sharply, subconsciously licking her dry lips. "I know which book the key's in, but… I dunno where the book is."

"Are you serious? Why didn't you tell us this before? We don't have enough time to find the book and then find the documents."

She didn't need to turn around to see the disapproval on his sour face. She could feel it burn through her skin and boil her blood. "We wouldn't be short on time if you hadn't held us back earlier!" She snapped, shooting the book in her hand, Myths of Leaf Town: Vampires, Werewolves and Witches, her blackest look.

"You were supposed to lead us, but you decided to stand there like an idiot."

"You've gotta be kidding me." Naruko clenched her unoccupied hand into a fist, wincing at the smarting pain in her bandaged palm. "I gestured for you guys to follow me, but nobody did! You were too busy acting weird!"

"Whatever." His exasperated expression cooled into one of indifference. "We don't have time for this. Just hurry up and find that key so we can get the documents."

She rolled her eyes, slamming the book back into the shelf just as the door creaked open.

"Naruko, Sasuke…" Sakura's voice was low, controlled, albeit panic dripped from every word. "Someone's coming."

Naruko's heart leaped into her throat, and she frantically searched the shelves for Kushikaze's Guide to Gardening - where the key laid expertly hidden in the earliest pages of chapter five. With panic hammering her heart against her ribs, she cleared one shelf before moving onto the next. Still no signs of the book. It wasn't until she reached the last shelf that she finally found it. She flipped through the pages, her heartbeat accelerating the instant she descried the key.

"Go, Sakura. You need to get out of here." Sasuke said, the hint of panic tinging his voice betraying his calm expression.

Naruko's stomach dropped. If Sasuke was worried, then this obviously wasn't a good situation to be in. Sakura managed one last worried look before closing the door, and footsteps were heard retreating before growing louder, closer.

They were out of time.

"Hurry up!" Sasuke hissed from across the room.

"I'm trying!" Naruko shakily grabbed the key before shoving the book back onto the shelf and rushing over to Sasuke. He took the key from her, unlocking the vault just as the doorknob began to turn.

Everything slowed down as he turned the knob, the vault giving a satisfying click as it opened. She glanced over her shoulder. No one had entered the room yet, but as the door slowly creaked open disquiet gnawed at her stomach nauseatingly. Sasuke's arm wrapped around her waist, pulling into the dark room with him.

She heard something jangle on the hardwood floor outside of the vault just as the door closed, but she was too distracted by the arm wrapped securely around her waist to question what had caused it.

As warmth crawled on her cheeks, she was relieved the room was pitch black; however, any relief she felt vanished as Sasuke pulled away with an irritated sigh.

"I dropped the key."

She blinked, taking a moment to let his words sink.

He dropped the key?

It was like a slap to the face when she finally realized they were trapped. She was stuck in this small, hot and dark room with the worst person. She opened her mouth to berate him, but he clamped a hand over it before she could.

Sasuke's hand was strangely cold.

She didn't have time to question it, not when the distance between them, at that moment, became nonexistent. She stepped backward to put more space between them, but he moved closer until she was up against the wall, wide-eyed and flustered.

"Don't say anything." He whispered, narrowing his eyes. "We'll find the Zabuza and Haku's documents and wait for Sakura to get us in the morning, alright?"

Naruko nodded, though something told her this was going to be one of the longest nights of her life.